Living and Learning

I just
had a heck of a revelation.Perhaps I am
not as smart as I think I am.It could
be that I do not have all the answers.Conceivably my opinion is not the only opinion.And maybe, just maybe -- there are other
viewpoints -- and they actually have value.Did you ever feel so strongly about something that you were certain you
were right?And you felt justified in
stating your opinion because it was all in the name of righteousness?

It
reminds me of the inspector/officer in Les Miserables who was chasing the thief
for years making the guy's life a living hell.The inspector (named Javert) is really not a bad guy at all.Technically
he's just fighting for justice.But he
is so blinded by his own self-righteousness that he doesn't see the big
picture.Sure, Valjean (the thief) stole
some bread and broke his parole, but the guy was just trying to feed his
sister's children who were poor and hungry.Was that a crime or an act of love?Valjean repented, and he spent the rest of his life spreading his wealth
and love with all those around him.Javert couldn't see that because he was so focused on himself and his
mission of "justice."He wasted his life in essence persecuting a good man.

Yesterday
I was in my Contemporary Art History class getting more and more perturbed at
the paintings I was viewing.I am not a
fan of contemporary art, and being an artist myself, I thought I surely know
what is art and what is not.The
philosophical jargon that I was reading in the textbooks was frustrating and
angering me. I was completely certain that my viewpoint was correct, and everyone else is just trying to shove nonsense down my
throat.I'm right, I thought, in
defending "true" art.Why
should I be taught such rubbish?At the
end of the class, the professor told us to "keep an open mind."I'm certain she was speaking to me, and speak
to me she did.

I never
thought of myself as being closed-minded.I'm as open-minded as the next person to things that seem reasonable and
sensible to me!!That pretty much fits
the definition of closed-minded according to dictionary.com which is:"having a mind firmly unreceptive to new
ideas or arguments."Guess what the
synonyms are:"inflexible,
obstinate, pigheaded, rigid."Ouch.

St. Paul
reminds me to "clothe [myself] with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience."An old
friend of mine used to say that humility is "being teachable."I certainly cannot be teachable with a closed
mind.Today I will try to walk gently,
patiently, and to keep an open mind which will lead me to become a kinder and
more humble person. Not to mention a hell of a lot less frustrated!